What is a man-in-the-middle attack, and how does Wire protect me from this?

A man-in-the-middle attack occurs when two users believe they are communicating with one another, but instead a third party intervenes in the conversation.

Wire protects you from a man-in-the-middle attack by enabling you to verify your conversations by comparing key fingerprints with your contacts. Matching key fingerprints ensure that you're talking to the correct person, and not to a third party who is posing as your contact.